subject: Spend Data Analysis & Classification To Magnify New Avenues For Savings [print this page] Spend Data Analysis & Classification To Magnify New Avenues For Savings
Procurement organizations are challenged to build the right information foundation to be able to drive savings for the companies. They work to achieve best possible results through strategic sourcing initiatives, finding the right supplier(s), at the right time, with the best possible terms and conditions and position orders with them. To manifest higher levels of excellence, procurement organizations must strengthen the entire procurement process so as to let the whole function work efficiently.
Procurement is perhaps one of the most challenging organizational tasks, which at times gets as tough as rocket science as identifying suppliers and "good" suppliers from remote destinations and overseas countries is quite a challenge. It takes a lot of efforts to identify, allocate, buy goods or services from distant buyers and make sure that every component is available right on time at the manufacturing facility. Only the most efficient procurement team can function like a well-oiled machine to have the material and matter in-flow in the organization. Right procurement teams composed of right people, braced with right processes and practices yield the much needed excellence in procurement for a company.
Optimum procurement efforts ideally begin with spend data analysis for all current as well as past spend data. It encompasses various activities that include data mining of base data from purchasing or financial systems i.e. account payables etc. to applying strategic tools to the data-sets to develop a thorough understanding of key suppliers, purchasing patterns, levels of aggregation, types and categories of spend and much more. An integrated approach to spend data analysis helps strengthen the basis of an effluent procurement system leading to increased spend visibility.
Spend analysis consistently identifies potential opportunities for savings and more considerably within the overall financial frame, which allocates prioritization of the savings and efficiency for right measures of efforts and resources. Effective procurement approaches and detailed spend analysis allows increase purchasing power, quickly and accurately determine opportunities, develop deeper cash savings as well as achieve more value from the existing contracts. This enables companies to control the process and analyze spend data, without being inhabited by rising expenses, budgeting and being slave to one supplier.
Right procurement approaches through strategic sourcing initiatives and spend analysis allows companies to identify potential supply risks, monitor the impact of changes, improve accuracy within company's input spend data, modify procurement related behaviour as well as achieve more value from the existing contracts.
